Visual Interpretation Module 19

Perceptual Interpretation To what extent do we learn to perceive? If our eyes were covered with blinders during our early years, would we enjoy normal perception if they were later removed? The adaptation goggles show us that our brain can adapt to changes that occur later in life.

Sensory Deprivation & Restored Vision Early visual experience can have a profound effect on perception. Blakemore & Cooper’s restricted environment with kittens. Do the kittens ever fully regain normal sensitivity to horizontal or vertical lines? NO. The “Use it or lose it” phenomenon. From the time their eyes first opened, and until the age of 5 months, these kittens were removed from darkness each day to spend 5 hours alone in a black-and-white striped cylinder with a clear glass floor. A stiff collar prevented the kittens from seeing anything else, even their own bodies. Afterward, these kittens had difficulty perceiving horizontal forms, compared with other kittens exposed only to horizontal forms.

Sensory Deprivation & Restored Vision These experiments show that lacking stimulation, the cortical cells had not developed normal connections making them functionally blind to shape. A sensory restriction does no permanent damage if it occurs later in life. This suggests that visual experiences during infancy are a critical period for normal sensory and perceptual development. Experience guides the organization of the brain’s neural connections. If deafness or blindness is corrected as an infant, it awakens the pertinent brain area. Nurture sculpts what nature has endowed.